A Day in the Life of a Roman Girl and Boy

Objectives & Outcomes

The students will be able to develop a day’s activities for either a girl or boy in ancient Rome. The students will choose a name for the child from a list provided and create a story line for this child for a day.

Materials Needed

Internet access to ducksters.com, history for kids, or rome.mrdonn.org, poster board and supplies, paper for rough draft of story.

Prepare ahead of time:  List of common names for Roman girls and boys.  Locate a map on the Internet of the Roman Mediterranean world for display.  Rubric for assessment.

Procedure

Opening to Lesson

• Choose volunteers to share information about their typical day, display various student responses
• Ask students if they think it would have been different 100 years ago
• Display a map of Italy and the Mediterranean, ask a volunteer to identify Rome
• Share some background with the students of ancient Rome

Body of Lesson

Modeling

• Ask students how they received their names
• Allow time for discussion and sharing
• Explain to students how Roman children were named.
• Ask: What were the differences then compared to today?
• Allow for discussion

Guided Practice

• Tell the students that they are to “invent” a fictitious Roman boy or girl.
• They will choose a name for the child from names supplied by the teacher.
• Guide students to useful websites for research
• After research on the Internet, they will “invent” a typical day in that child’s life, using the information they find
• Tell students to include information related to the following questions:
  • What was the schedule of meals for the day?
  • What foods did they eat?
  • What type of clothing did they wear?
  • How did they play?
  • Did they go to school?
  • Did they go shopping?
  • What type of houses did they live in?
• Using pictures from the Internet, students will either print out or draw a “picture” of the child.
• They will mount the picture along with a typed copy of their “A Day in the Life of___” story.
• The students will present their child to the class and tell about a usual day in his/her life.
• Fellow students will have a chance to ask questions or compare what they have found in their research.

Independent Practice

• Have students research a day of a child from another culture and/or time period, writing a one or two-page report related to the research

Closing

• Have a class discussion about whether or not the students would like to have lived in ancient Rome.
• What would they have liked or disliked? What is the biggest difference between life today in ancient Rome?

Assessment & Evaluation

A poster board will be presented to class which includes a “picture” of the child chosen and a typed copy of the “Day in the Life of ___.”

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Modification & Differentiation

Pair students: one boy with one girl, so they can work together and recognize differences in ancient Rome.  Have students dress like an ancient Roman child.  Allow students to work in pairs.  Choose a different ancient city.  Use larger groups and have students act out the day in the life of a few Roman children.

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